Today, the nation mourns the passing of our 39th President, Jimmy Carter. As we reflect on President Carter’s life and legacy, we are reminded of the beginnings of the Main Street Movement and his administration’s role in the early federal advocacy efforts that advanced our work from a pilot program to a national initiative.
When the Main Street Project was introduced as a pilot initiative of the National Trust for Historic Preservation in 1977, private funding and a self-help attitude spurred initial work in three communities — Galesburg, Illinois; Madison, Indiana; and Hot Springs, South Dakota — which included building grassroots community support around four areas of focus: economic vitality, design, promotion, and organization. The success of the early effort and the Four Points indicated the potential for expansion to other communities across the country.
Moving from a pilot to a program required outreach and engagement. Mary Means, one of the founders and leader of the effort, initiated a door-to-door advocacy campaign with federal agencies, highlighting the needs and opportunities for Main Street revitalization. The first federal support for the Main Street project came through the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) “Everything can be traced to this small $50,000 initial grant,” says Mary. “It may be the best leveraged NEA grant ever.” It helped spur initial work in a self-help model for small communities, with four successive grants for Main Street educational tools that could be distributed to participating communities. Soon after, the Economic Development Administration (EDA) became an early champion, helping spur relationships with other agencies, including the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
With several agencies engaged in the work, the table was set for taking a bigger step in federal advocacy. And the urgency was real: initial private funding for the Main Street Project had run out. Without an infusion of funding, the program was in danger of dying on the vine.
In 1979, Mary took a significant step and met with the Carter Administration’s Domestic Policy Council (DPC) staff, Marcy Kaptur (now a Congresswoman from Ohio). In the conversation, Mary made an ambitious ask for funding for the Main Street Project. To her surprise, the visionary Carter Administration staff encouraged her to double her funding request.
With the Carter Administration’s focus on integrating programs across agencies, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), signed by the DPC and nine federal agencies, created a commitment from the federal government to support Main Street revitalization activities. Financial support to expand Main Street from the DPC was to be funneled from HUD’s Community Development Block Grant program’s discretionary funds and other participating agencies, and 38 states competed to receive funding to launch their own Main Street efforts. The movement grew from the three initial pilot communities to 30 communities across six states, establishing the first statewide Main Street Coordinating Programs.
While the MOU lasted only until the end of the Carter Administration, the funding was a substantial first step in the development of a nationwide Main Street network. Continued federal efforts in the Reagan Administration and in partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture led to the first Main Street national conference via video, with over 30,000 attendees across 400 locations. Today, work to advocate for the Main Street Approach is occurring across local, state, and federal levels on a consistent basis, all with ties back to those initial steps.
As advocates for the preservation of our communities, we should also honor and uplift the story of how our national network of Main Street programs developed. The commitment of the Carter Administration to advancing the grassroots Main Street Movement resonates across our network today and as we look to the future of our advocacy efforts. We thank President Carter, along with key administration staff including Representative Marcy Kaptur, Michael Pittas, Dick Flemming, and many others who supported this early work. And of course, Mary Means for continuing to share her wisdom and experience.